August 25, 2015

Starting a New Adventure

A couple of years ago Gregg and I started talking about homeschool. Mostly because we lived in a large city and didn't know many people in the schools. With us moving back to our home town last year it became a much more difficult decision. We have prayed, researched, prayed and researched some more and feel very confident in the decision we made and the plan God has for our family to homeschool. I understand that everyone does not agree with it and that's ok. We are getting into our 3rd week of school and I have more validation, everyday, in the choice made.

I decided to go with My Father's World Kindergarten Curriculum. The first 10 days of the curriculum is talking about The 7 days of Creation and is just an introductory period. Yesterday we started our first unit which is Ss Sun. Kaidi and Atlas sat at the table and colored a sun and Kaidi colored and cut out her picture cards for the letter S. Once Asher finally woke up, I had an episode about the sun from Sid the Science Kid pulled up on Netflix and I let them watch that as I got breakfast ready. We are still doing swimming lessons 3 times a week so after breakfast and a little bit of playtime we loaded up and headed to Enterprise for lessons. We have always tried to make everyday life into a learning opportunity by finding teachable moments in our daily activities. I took the kids to Chick-Fil-A after swimming lessons and we talked about the sun and how it warmed up the pool and made us so hot while we sat out there. Then we had a conversation about shadows and the fun we can have with them. When we got home, Kaidi finished up her Words to Remember Page by cutting out a sun and writing the words, "Jesus is the light of the world."

Snapshot of our first day of the Sun unit

I bought a small box of plain sugar cookies from wal-mart and a can of yellow icing and let the kids decorate their cookies to look like the sun and we watched an episode of Reading Rainbow titled "My Shadow" which happens to be our poem for the week. While sitting at the table, Asher thanked me for the yummy sun cookie and then said, "you're the best mama ever". Those teeny tiny words are just what I needed to hear to encourage this insecure mama heart! This was a huge decision for us. It's alot of pressure and a huge commitment from me and I question often if I have what it takes and if I will be good enough.It's overwhelming at times and I know that this is normal. I am determined. I am fully committed. I am all in. I pray for patience and reassurance and thank God often for the strength He gives. I know that there isn't anyone who cares more for my children's futures and education than Gregg and me! I am so thankful that we are on the same page and know that even though it is a struggle for us, financially, the best place for me is at home raising and teaching our children.

I feel the need to apologize for not blogging more often, but life is very time consuming and it is hard to sit down and type up entries. I wish I was better at it so that I can look back over the years. There is so much I could share about our daily crazies and such. The kids are growing up so fast and being with them everyday, there are so many funny stories I could share. Maybe things will get to a point where I can blog more.. but I'm not so sure about that. Life is pretty busy! So, until next time! :)